Assuming that everyone who voted for Bell would have also voted for Kinky and that everyone who voted for Kinky still would have done so if he ran as a Democrat, you are correct. However I think that is a rather large assumption to make. If you add Kinky and Bell's votes it comes out be about 1.86 million and Perry took about 1.72 million. That's only a difference of 140,000 votes. I'm willing to bet that there would be at least that many people who would either change their vote or not vote at all if Kinky ran with a (D) next to his name.

Most of Friedman's support came from uber-GOP counties. He might've gotten MORE support from Republicans.

I'd bet more of his support was GOP than Dem, almost without a doubt. I can verify that anecdotally, if nothing else. Part of the reason why is because one of his main campaign themes was the "deport all illegals" schtick.

Of course, if he were to win the nomination as a Democrat, it would be highly unlikely he would run on that type of platform (especially as an Ann Richards/Molly Ivins Democrat). And thus, his Republican support would go right back to the Republicans (they'd probably go back anyways, regardless of platform).

There was also a lot of Republican dissatisfaction with Rick Perry in Texas. But the dissatisfied Republicans still preferred him in office than any Democrat. However, since the race was not going to be close, they felt a certain amount of freedom to send a message.

Are there any high-profile Republicans in Texas who might be considering running to replace Rick Perry?

I would be very surprised if Carole Keeton Strayhorn doesn't run again, as a Republican this time.

That list would be very long. Strayhorn stands around a 0% chance of getting the nomination. I doubt she has many friends in the GOP after 2006 and I also doubt she would fair well in a Texas Republican party primary, which tends to be controlled by the right-wing elements in the party (as the only people who show up).

I should also add Kinky should stand around a 0% chance of winning the nomination, unless the 2010 candidates are the equivalent to Chris Bell in talent.

Kinky is not a Democrat. He's a racist who contributed to the re-election of a Governor who represented and stood for everything Kinky was supposedly running against. His campaign consisted of running ads about animals and pointing at radio and internet polls to show that we would win in a landslide come election day.